Johnson & Wales, Tulane collaboration melds medicine, culinary arts

A unique partnership that connects health practitioners and chefs could change the way doctors approach disease management and prevention through culinary medicine.

Johnson & Wales University of Providence and Tulane University School of Medicine of New Orleans announced in July a collaboration that implements a comprehensive curriculum to include culinary classes for medical students.

A unique partnership that connects health practitioners and chefs could change the way doctors approach disease management and prevention through culinary medicine.

Johnson & Wales University of Providence and Tulane University School of Medicine of New Orleans announced in July a collaboration that implements a comprehensive curriculum to include culinary classes for medical students.

Classes are taught by Johnson & Wales student interns and staff in New Orleans, and Tulane medical students will have the opportunity to study culinary nutrition on the Providence campus.

Somerset resident Suzanne Vieira, chairwoman of the Culinary Nutrition Department and a registered dietician, said the new program will dramatically change medical school education and how doctors are taught, particularly how nutrition plays a role in preventing obesity and managing diabetes.

“It’s connecting the world of medicine and nutrition together. People don’t eat nutrition, they eat food,” Vieira said.

The Johnson & Wales culinary nutrition program is the only four-year accredited curriculum of its kind in the country, with one-third of its graduates going on to earn registered dietician credentials.

“We’re a heat-and-eat society,” Vieira said. “People need to understand food and nutrition and learn how to cook.”

The idea to expose medical students to culinary arts comes from Dr. Benjamin Sachs, the dean of the medical school because statistics show 65 percent of Americans are overweight and one-third are obese.

Michael Makuch of Westport is an assistant professor of culinary nutrition and a graduate of the program. He teaches nutrition and spa cuisine.

Makuch traveled to New Orleans earlier this year and conducted a cooking demonstration for medical students in a biochemistry class on how to cut out fats through using fresh food.

“The program is now part of the medical school rotation. There is no program like this. It’s medicine coming together with culinary arts,” he said.

Because of Johnson & Wales’ unique curriculum of combining nutrition and culinary arts, the collaboration is a natural partnership to promote culinary medicine.

“The major goal with the collaboration is to give the med students a better understanding of the connection between nutrition and culinary, and how to deliver the message to their patients,” Makuch said.